Original - "The New Santa" - PG 13
Title: The New Santa
Author: bluemoondreamer
Fandom: Original
Disclaimer: This one's mine.
Summary: Santa wants to take a vacation this year, so he hires a new guy to take his place.
Rating: PG 13 Overall - for language mostly
Note: I know I dropped the ball big time on this project. But I've caught up and here are the stories for the days I skipped. There are seven parts for each of the days I missed, which all add up to make one original story.
Day 13: Prompt: you can do the job
Summary: Santa has decided to take the year off and hires a new guy to fill his place.
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January 13th - Somewhere in North America
"Come one, you can't honestly expect me to believe that just because I answered an ad in the paper for 'a 'jolly' person, likes to stay out all night and loves animals and children' that I'm qualified to be the next Santa Clause!" Dennis was seated in a plush chair in a nice looking office in a big building in the middle of the city. He had called a number in answer to the classified ad and the woman on the other end gave him directions to come to this location. When he set out that morning he wasn't sure what kind of job offer he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.
"Now Dennis, I know you can do the job. I hired you for a reason. Of all the men and women who applied for the job I knew the minute you walked in the door that you'd be the best fit." Nick was positive he made the right choice. Dennis just needed a bit of encouragement.
"Dennis, do you remember the house you lived in as a child, and how it backed up to the farm next door?" Dennis nodded slowly, not sure where this was going. "Do you remember all the animals that used to wander over and how you'd take care of them, feed them and give them baths? Those animals were special to someone, and you treated them with the respect all animals deserve."
Dennis scoffed. "Yeah, but that was when I was a kid. I haven't had a pet in years. And I certainly wouldn't know the first thing about taking care of reindeer." Dennis stopped, shocked. "I can't believe just said that, like this is really happening! I'm just dreaming. Out too late and this is a crazy hangover dream."
"No Dennis. This is not a dream. I have hired you to be my replacement for the year. I need a vacation, do you know how long it's been?" Santa shook his head and stretched his arms. "400 years. Now can you really deprive an old man of some much needed time off?"
Dennis looked at the 'old man'. He didn't really look that old. Certainly not 400 years old. And he didn't particularly look like Santa Clause, either. Sure, he had the white beard and rosy cheeks. But he was wearing a nice green sweater and slacks, not a red suit, and he definitely didn't have the 'bowl full of jelly' belly.
"You don't even look like Santa! How can I trust that this is for real and not one of those Nigerian Prince Scams?" Dennis got in Nick's face and poked him in the belly. "Like I thought, hard as a rock. Where's the bowl full of jelly, Santa? Where's the nose like a cherry, huh? Where are the reindeer and the sleigh?" Dennis was working himself up to a lather so Nick gently moved him back to sitting in the chair.
Nick sat back down in his own chair and sighed. "My predecessor was the man responsible for many of the current descriptions and tales about Santa Clause. It was toward the end of his career that all the chubby and big bellied descriptions started showing up. He was getting lazy, not as efficient with his deliveries and people started seeing more of him and his big belly. Soon the board had to start looking for a permanent replacement and I was hired. And I'll have you know, I like to keep my self in shape. It's hard work climbing in and out of that sleigh, up and down chimneys. As for the nose like a cherry, everyone would have a red nose and red cheeks if they're outside all night long in the middle of the winter, don't you think?" Nick was being patient with Dennis' lack of belief and he was still positive that he'd made the right choice, Dennis just needed some time to come to terms with the situation. "And my reindeer? They are up on the roof. I had to get to work some how, right?"
"You work here? So you've got a second job when you're not Santa?"
"No Santa is a year round job. The board of directors manages this building. It is our North American production and assembly line. Most of the time I'm here or at our main base of operations keeping an eye on the workers and naughty or nice list, or making my own plans for Christmas Eve. I will show you some of what that entails later.
But for now, I will be training you here for the next 3 months with techniques on how to shimmy up and down the chimneys, how to gain access when there aren't chimneys and how to fly the sleigh. When I think you've mastered those skills, then I'll show you the production line. It is pretty self-sufficient actually, there's not much you have to worry about. The elves know how to do their jobs and make good quality gifts. But sometimes, especially around crunch time, you have to keep up on them to work a little faster. It's been a long year for them after all, but we've still got work to do."
Nick could tell that Dennis was starting to warm up to the idea of being Santa for a year, his face had become serious, like he was really thinking about it. But at the same time he was looking around the office with a bit of wonder and excitement in his eyes. "Ok. Let's say that I am maybe interested in taking the job. When would I start?"
"Right now."
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Day 14: Prompt: chimney
Summary: The new Santa is having a hard time of getting down the chimneys.
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March 5th - Somewhere in North America
"Now, what you must understand is that there is some element of magic that goes into this."
"Oh really? I wouldn't have guessed." Dennis and Nick were standing on a roof top in a big warehouse type room. There were five or six miniature houses that had been built in the room, giving it the appearance of a movie set. Many of the roof tops included a chimney and there were a few various styles and types included. Currently in front of the two men there was a largish brick chimney.
"Don't get smart with me." Nick snapped. "For this to work, you must believe in the magic. And I know you do, or else you wouldn't be here. So stop pretending that you don't believe or that it's too much to handle. Got it?"
Dennis looked down at his feet in his shame of pissing Santa Clause off. "Got it."
"OK, let's try this again. Like I was saying, the magic is something that we have to believe in. But the magic itself comes from children who believe in Santa. Of course, with the modern world we now live in, not as many people believe in Santa Clause anymore so there is less magic for us to use." Nick finished tightening his climbing harness around his waist. "Therefore we have to use a bit of our own physical strength and dexterity to deliver our gifts. Are you all tightened up over there?"
Dennis tugged at his harness. "Yep."
"Good. So the first thing that you'll do is come up to the chimney and attach the clamp to the edge. Then feed the rope through the eye and tie a knot." Nick demonstrated the procedure. "Then it's just a matter of belaying yourself down to the bottom, delivering the presents and climbing back up. Nothing to it."
"I really don't know the first thing about climbing, you know." He could tell Dennis was worried about belaying down the chimney, but there was something more as well. NIck just couldn't put his finger on it yet.
"Don't worry, I'll talk you through the whole thing and you'll have plenty of time to practice on your own. And of course this is only used in the case of a big enough chimney. The houses without fireplaces or with chimneys that are too small for you go get through, will be the ones you'll need the magic for." Nick adjusted his harness and rope combination and started to lower himself down the chimney. He explained everything to Dennis as he was doing it. Then came Dennis' turn. He started down the wall and was doing just fine until his shoulders and head were lowered into the chimney.
"Ahhh! NO! I can't do it. Get me out of here!" Dennis screamed. He was kicking and shoving against the walls of the chimney. Luckily, he hadn't let go of the rope or else he'd have come crashing down to the fireplace grate.
"It's OK Dennis, just lower yourself down the rope like I told you. Let it out a little at a time and you'll make it down just fine." NIck realized why Dennis was acting so hesitant when it came to climbing down the chimney. Dennis was scared of tight spaces.
A claustrophobic Santa, that just wouldn't do.
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Day 15: Prompt: two front teeth
Summary: The new Santa isn't as quiet as the old Santa and makes the mistake of waking a little girl on one of his visits.
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December 24th 11:54 AM - London
It was now Christmas Eve and Dennis had already started his deliveries in the far east, just as the sun was going down. Surprisingly, he had made it to England without any troubles. HIs phobia was mostly gone but there were hints of the old panic whenever he started down or back up a chimney. Mostly, he'd been using magic to get himself in and out and while the magic got weaker the more he used it, there were a few moments where he was able to re-supply.
Children who truly believed were kind of hard to come by but every time Dennis entered a house where there was at least one person who even believed a little bit, his magical energy crept back up slightly. And of course it helped when a few kids would see Santa just as he was leaving. But he made sure that all they saw was a flash of the red suit or the bottom of the bag as Dennis hauled it back up the chimneys.
One thing Nick had stressed to him was that it was OK for children to see a glimpse of Santa as he was leaving (it would help strengthen their awe and belief and therefore the magic), but it was absolutely necessary that Santa didn't wake any children in the middle of his delivery. And most importantly, Santa should never stop and talk to any child who might happen to see him.
Dennis didn't quite understand the reasoning behind that last rule. After all, if Santa would stop and talk to a kid, wouldn't that kid's belief increase like one hundred percent? And then he'd go off and tell his friends and the friends would be stronger believers too.
"And then the kid would tell his parents that he saw Santa and the parents will do one of two things. One, they'll tell their kid that Santa isn't real, that what they saw or who they talked to was just their imagination or they were having a dream. Or two, the parents freak out that there was a stranger in the house dressed like Santa and call the cops. The cops open an investigation and then the board of directors has to step in and mitigate things. And either way, the kid looses all faith that he once had." Nick had explained.
Dennis understood the rules and had followed them faithfully all night, until now.
"HI! You're Father Chrithmath, aren't you?" said the little girl. Dennis was screwed. It started as he was coming down the latest chimney. The pack of gifts slipped from his grasp and dropped heavily onto the grate at the bottom of the fireplace. By the time Dennis made it down and out of the fireplace, the girl was already sitting up on the sofa. Her hair was mussed up and there was a blanket thrown across her legs. She had clearly been asleep waiting for Santa to come and was woken up. Usually, Dennis was quiet enough so that the kids he found in this exact position would stay asleep until he left.
Dennis knew he couldn't talk to the girl so he just winked at her and turned to go about his business of stuffing stockings and laying presents under the tree.
"Aren't you going to thay anything? My name is Thophie. What's yours?" The girl had scooted off of the sofa and was following Dennis around the room.
Thophie? What kind of name was that? Dennis couldn't help himself from asking, rule be damned. "Thophie, I've never heard that name before."
"Not Thophie, thilly. Thophie." The girl giggled. It was then that Dennis realized she was missing her two front teeth, causing her mispronunciation of words.
"Oh, Sophie. That's a nice name. My name's Santa, of course." Dennis finished setting out the last present and turned back around toward the fire place, right into Sophie's hug.
Sophie's little arms wrapped tight around Dennis' legs, her head not coming much higher than his knees. "Alright Sophie, I have to leave now. You need to let me go." Dennis tried to pull Sophie off his legs but for a girl of six or so years old, she was very strong.
"I'll miss you Santa! I knew you were real, but big brother said I was stupid. Don't go, let me go get Theo and show you to him!"
"I can't stay Sophie, I have many more presents do deliver. You know the truth for real now, it doesn't matter what Theo thinks." Said Dennis. Actually, it would help if Theo also believed in Santa, for the sake of the magic. But if he was already of the age where he refused to believe, seeing Santa Clause for himself would probably do more harm than good.
"You're right Santa! I'll believe in you forever!" Sophie un-clung herself from his legs and went to sit back down on the sofa. She pulled the blanket back over her shoulders and gave Dennis a big toothless grin as she waved Santa goodbye.
Dennis smiled at her and winked one more time before ducking into the fireplace and starting his climb back up.
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Day 16: Prompt: wrap it up and send it
Summary: New Santa gets the idea that it might just be easier to wrap up the gifts and mail them.
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December 25 12:13 AM - New Jersesy
Having now reached the east coast of America, Dennis decided that he would use a little of the magic to try and make things go faster for himself during this last push.
He thought that maybe he cold get more gifts delivered faster if he simply used the postal service that was already in place across the United States. Dennis used a bit of the magic to wrap a few gifts in brown paper and send them back in time to the local post office of one small costal town. Of course the mail wasn't delivered in the middle of the night or on Christmas morning, so the gifts had to go back in time by at least a few days in order to get shipped to the correct addresses by Christmas Eve.
Luckily, one of the best and most handy talents of Santa was the ability to tell where his presents were and if they had been delivered to the correct home. This ability was initially used to make sure Dennis didn't get lost or go to the same house twice. But Dennis theorized that all he had to do was drive his sleigh back and forth across town and he'd be able to sense those houses that had his gifts already delivered to them by the postal service and he'd be able to skip those homes all together.
And it worked.
Dennis could fly down the street and sense from each house if they had gotten their gifts from Santa and if they were the correct gifts for that family. In the end, for that small costal town Dennis only had to deliver gifts to fifty or so homes.
So he did the same thing again and again. For almost the entire state of New Jersey, Dennis sent presents back in time to the local post offices and had the post-people deliver the gifts before he had even arrived.
However, one down side of the 'wrap it and send it' method was that his magical energy was running out faster and faster. It was never fully depleted thanks to the little bit of magic he would pick up as he flew over the homes of those who believed, but Dennis soon realized that this wasn't going to work in the long run.
He needed what little bit of human contact he got as he personally made deliveries to each family. That burst of energy when a kid would peek out from around the corner and see him was entirely necessary. And of course there was the milk and cookies that he was missing out on at many places too.
So, for the remainder of the state and all the rest to follow Dennis made each delivery personally and got to enjoy more sweet treats. Even if it did take a bit more time.
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Day 17: Prompt: scumbag
Summary: After going back to the traditional way of delivering presents, Santa runs into a woman who thinks he's her ex.
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December 25th 1:30 AM - Chicago area
Dennis had come across the eastern part of the United States a lot faster than he had thought possible. Perhaps a bit of that was helped along by the post office in New Jersey, but still there was something funny in the way time traveled while he was delivering presents.
Maybe his sleigh moved extremely fast while flying, or maybe time itself slowed down for that one night. Nick never did explain how that part of being Santa worked. Apparently there was some kind of natural magic that was involved in helping time move differently. It was the same natural magic that let the sleigh and the reindeer fly. And because Nick was never willing to explain how that magic worked or where it came from, Dennis suspected that Nick himself didn't even know.
He was now preparing to land at one of the last delivery locations for this neighborhood. It was a largish apartment building with perhaps twelve or so units.
As he parked his sleigh on the roof Dennis realized this was one of the times he was going to have to use his magic to get in and out of each apartment. He decided that the easiest way of doing so would be to walk up and down the halls and magic himself through the front door to deposit his gift somewhere inside.
Dennis had gotten through only four of the homes in this manner when he ran into trouble.
"How dare you! Scumbag! How did you get in here Frank? I took back your key."
Dennis had just walked through the door and was starting for the living room when a woman came walking out of her bathroom wearing a robe and a towel around her wet hair. As soon as she saw Dennis she started yelling at him. Dennis was so startled and off kilter that he had no ability to respond what-so-ever.
"And what the hell are you doing wearing that ridiculous Santa crap? DId the plant finally fire your ass?" The woman started advancing on Dennis. "Good. You didn't deserve that job anyway. I can't believe you just let yourself in like you belong here still. I broke up with you three months ago! What are you doing still standing there! Get out, you scumbag! Get out!"
Dennis had no option at that point but to quickly turn and run back out into the hallway. This woman is scary! He thought.
Out in the hall, Dennis could see a few nosy neighbors had opened their doors to see what was going on. Great, I'll never be able to finish this building now! He decided that his best course of action was to get to the roof and fly away as fast as possible. He would come back to this building a few hours later when the residents had gone back to sleep.
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Day 18: Prompt: virgin
Summary: New Santa needs to take a break from all the delivering so he stops at one of the few bars still open on Christmas eve and orders some 'virgin' drink - he's still on the job after all.
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December 25th 1:50 AM - Somewhere in Illinois
Dennis decided that after that last fiasco of a delivery he needed a break. Already ahead of schedule thanks to New Jersey he figured he had a few minutes to spare and so the next bar he few over which was still open he was going to stop and get a drink.
Surprisingly, it didn't take him more than a few minutes to find an open establishment. Dennis landed the sleigh on the roof and climbed down the fire escape to go in the front door.
Inside was dark and gloomy, not his usual scene even when he hadn't been Santa.
"Hey man, you look beat." Called out the bartender. "You just get out of a gig or something?"
"Huh?" Dennis was confused. The encounter with the crazy lady had really put the whammy on him. "Oh." He realized the bartender was talking about his outfit. He was still dressed in the red and white coat of Santa's ("Don't knock it till you try it, kid. It's actually really warm and you're gonna need warm." said Nick when he showed him the outfit. And it was.)
"Right, yeah. Actually, I'm still working. Just taking a break." Dennis sat down at the bar and looked around the room. There were a few customers at this early hour on Christmas morning. An old man sat in the corner staring into his half full glass and a small group of young people were piled into a booth at the front.
"Alright, well what can I get for you? A beer or something stronger? A shot of whisky?" The man reached under the counter and pulled out a shot glass.
Dennis shook his head. "No thanks, I really am still working and I have to fl-drive out of here."
"OK. Then, how about one of the virgin holiday specials I made up for those kids over there?" He nodded toward the group in the front. "They actually don't taste that bad. Even been fixing a few for myself this evening."
"Yeah, sure sounds good." Dennis nodded. "I wonder why all those kids are out at this time of night, on Christmas no less. They should probably be in bed, eager for Christmas morning."
The bartender turned back to Dennis and waved at someone in the group of kids. "See that boy there, with the blond hair. That's my son, he and his friends went out to a Christmas party at the local youth center. But since I had to close shop here and the party was over at midnight, they all came to hang out here and get free drinks before heading back to my place for the night. And don't think they aren't eager for Christmas morning. We take Christmas very seriously in our house. My son may be sixteen but somehow he's held onto his belief in Santa since he was a boy. I haven't the heart to tell him any different, but just maybe he's made me into a believer too."
Dennis got a rush of warm energy at that statement. This man and his son really were true believers in Santa, Dennis could feel in now. "Oh! I'm sorry if I'm holding you guys back from leaving. I won't be long. Swear."
"No, don't sweat it. You made it in before closing. See there goes Jake to flip the closed sign now." He pointed to his son who was making his way back to the table of friends. "All I gotta do is kick out this old geezer. Hey Walter! Time to go! I called a cab for you. It'll be here any minute."
"I'll take care of him, Mr. Richards." said one of the girls from the group as she walked past Dennis. "Come on Walter, time to go."
"Thanks, Amy." said Richards as the girl helped Walter to his feet and walked him to the door. Richards handed Dennis a tall glass filled with a frothy blended ice drink. "Here you go, one Virgin Chocolate Frosty."
Dennis took a sip and discovered the drink had a refreshing mint and chocolate flavor.
After a few more minutes of idle chatter while Richards tidied up behind the bar, wiped down the counter and Dennis finished his drink, Dennis decided it was about time to go. He pulled his wallet out of an inner pocket of the Santa suit. "Well Richards, how much do I owe you? That drink was mighty tasty."
"Nope. There's no charge for Santa on Christmas Eve, didn't you know?" Richards shook his head and pushed Dennis' wallet back. "Put your wallet away, man. You must be doing good work tonight if you're still out working at this time and refusing to drink. Even all the crazy drunk mall Santas have gone home by now. Go back to helping those sick kids or what ever you're doing tonight."
Dennis stood up and shook Richards' hand. "Well if you're sure I can't pay for my drink, at least let me give you something for Christmas." Dennis put his hand back into the inner pocket and with some Santa magic he was able to produce the gifts that would have been dropped off at the Richards' home later on. He passed over two oblong shaped, brightly wrapped boxes. "One for you and one for Jake."
"Wow, how'd you do that, dude?" Richards was definitely impressed.
"Just a little Christmas Magic."
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Day 19: Prompt: star of wonder
Summary: After he makes his last delivery (on time of course - cause he's Santa) Dennis rides off toward the north and the north star 'of wonder'.
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December 25th 4:55 AM - West Coast United States
That was it. The last delivery.
Dennis climbed back into the sleigh for the last time and took off from the roof with a shout of joy.
"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!" As the sleigh climbed higher and higher into the sky he made one last circle over the city and gave one last check that he'd not forgotten anybody and he let out another shout of joy. "Hooray! I'm done! I didn't make too bad a Santa after all." Dennis was beat tired and ready to sleep for what felt like two weeks.
Nick had told him that when he was all done with his deliveries that he was to come back to the main base of operations where he'd done most of his training. The reindeer would be housed there for most of the off season and Dennis could get some well deserved rest. Yeah I'm going to need that rest, thought Dennis. That was probably the longest all-nighter I've ever pulled.
"Now how do I get back?" Nick had told Dennis that there was only one way to get to the North Pole and it wasn't just keep flying north. There was more magic involved and this time it reminded Dennis of the magic in Peter Pan. "Just turn toward the North Star and keep flying at it, even if you think you might be going too high." Dennis turned the sleigh and searched the night sky for the bright, unmoving, ever wondrous North Star.
As Dennis started moving toward that fixed point in the sky it didn't look like he was getting any closer to it, but it did look like he was leaving the earth in a great hurry
Beneath him, the snowy ground started to blur, things turned hazy and Dennis had nothing but belief to tell him that he was going in the right direction. As things became more and more hard to look at Dennis quickly became dizzy and passed out.
He came to as the sleigh was stopping and looked around as the pristine white snow of the North Pole. Directly ahead of the reindeer was a barn, which they instinctively knew as home and was where they were currently pulling the sleigh. Once inside, Dennis noticed a familiar face standing off to the side.
Dennis jumped down to greet his friend. "Hey Nick! I did it. Everything delivered by five in the morning on Christmas Day. It was a success!" He looked a little closer at his older friend. Nick had gained a little sun from his time off in the islands. His white beard sharply contrasted with his freshly tanned face and neck. "How was your vacation?"
"It was wonderful Dennis, thank you for asking. But now I must ask you a question. Did you enjoy your night as Santa Clause?" Nick wore a very serious face. "All of it?"
"Well there were some pretty crazy folk out there. This one woman thought I was her ex who had broken into her house." Laughed for a moment at the memory of that particular delivery but then went silent. Dennis thought on the subject for a few moments. "But yeah, overall I did enjoy it. Making some kid's morning super special with an extra gift under the tree felt amazing."
Nick nodded and a bright smile came to his face. "Good, because I wasn't just training you to be my replacement for one year. I'm going to retire. From now on, you're going to officially be Santa Clause."
Dennis just looked at Nick with a blank expression. "What?"
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Author: bluemoondreamer
Fandom: Original
Disclaimer: This one's mine.
Summary: Santa wants to take a vacation this year, so he hires a new guy to take his place.
Rating: PG 13 Overall - for language mostly
Note: I know I dropped the ball big time on this project. But I've caught up and here are the stories for the days I skipped. There are seven parts for each of the days I missed, which all add up to make one original story.
Day 13: Prompt: you can do the job
Summary: Santa has decided to take the year off and hires a new guy to fill his place.
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January 13th - Somewhere in North America
"Come one, you can't honestly expect me to believe that just because I answered an ad in the paper for 'a 'jolly' person, likes to stay out all night and loves animals and children' that I'm qualified to be the next Santa Clause!" Dennis was seated in a plush chair in a nice looking office in a big building in the middle of the city. He had called a number in answer to the classified ad and the woman on the other end gave him directions to come to this location. When he set out that morning he wasn't sure what kind of job offer he was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.
"Now Dennis, I know you can do the job. I hired you for a reason. Of all the men and women who applied for the job I knew the minute you walked in the door that you'd be the best fit." Nick was positive he made the right choice. Dennis just needed a bit of encouragement.
"Dennis, do you remember the house you lived in as a child, and how it backed up to the farm next door?" Dennis nodded slowly, not sure where this was going. "Do you remember all the animals that used to wander over and how you'd take care of them, feed them and give them baths? Those animals were special to someone, and you treated them with the respect all animals deserve."
Dennis scoffed. "Yeah, but that was when I was a kid. I haven't had a pet in years. And I certainly wouldn't know the first thing about taking care of reindeer." Dennis stopped, shocked. "I can't believe just said that, like this is really happening! I'm just dreaming. Out too late and this is a crazy hangover dream."
"No Dennis. This is not a dream. I have hired you to be my replacement for the year. I need a vacation, do you know how long it's been?" Santa shook his head and stretched his arms. "400 years. Now can you really deprive an old man of some much needed time off?"
Dennis looked at the 'old man'. He didn't really look that old. Certainly not 400 years old. And he didn't particularly look like Santa Clause, either. Sure, he had the white beard and rosy cheeks. But he was wearing a nice green sweater and slacks, not a red suit, and he definitely didn't have the 'bowl full of jelly' belly.
"You don't even look like Santa! How can I trust that this is for real and not one of those Nigerian Prince Scams?" Dennis got in Nick's face and poked him in the belly. "Like I thought, hard as a rock. Where's the bowl full of jelly, Santa? Where's the nose like a cherry, huh? Where are the reindeer and the sleigh?" Dennis was working himself up to a lather so Nick gently moved him back to sitting in the chair.
Nick sat back down in his own chair and sighed. "My predecessor was the man responsible for many of the current descriptions and tales about Santa Clause. It was toward the end of his career that all the chubby and big bellied descriptions started showing up. He was getting lazy, not as efficient with his deliveries and people started seeing more of him and his big belly. Soon the board had to start looking for a permanent replacement and I was hired. And I'll have you know, I like to keep my self in shape. It's hard work climbing in and out of that sleigh, up and down chimneys. As for the nose like a cherry, everyone would have a red nose and red cheeks if they're outside all night long in the middle of the winter, don't you think?" Nick was being patient with Dennis' lack of belief and he was still positive that he'd made the right choice, Dennis just needed some time to come to terms with the situation. "And my reindeer? They are up on the roof. I had to get to work some how, right?"
"You work here? So you've got a second job when you're not Santa?"
"No Santa is a year round job. The board of directors manages this building. It is our North American production and assembly line. Most of the time I'm here or at our main base of operations keeping an eye on the workers and naughty or nice list, or making my own plans for Christmas Eve. I will show you some of what that entails later.
But for now, I will be training you here for the next 3 months with techniques on how to shimmy up and down the chimneys, how to gain access when there aren't chimneys and how to fly the sleigh. When I think you've mastered those skills, then I'll show you the production line. It is pretty self-sufficient actually, there's not much you have to worry about. The elves know how to do their jobs and make good quality gifts. But sometimes, especially around crunch time, you have to keep up on them to work a little faster. It's been a long year for them after all, but we've still got work to do."
Nick could tell that Dennis was starting to warm up to the idea of being Santa for a year, his face had become serious, like he was really thinking about it. But at the same time he was looking around the office with a bit of wonder and excitement in his eyes. "Ok. Let's say that I am maybe interested in taking the job. When would I start?"
"Right now."
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Day 14: Prompt: chimney
Summary: The new Santa is having a hard time of getting down the chimneys.
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March 5th - Somewhere in North America
"Now, what you must understand is that there is some element of magic that goes into this."
"Oh really? I wouldn't have guessed." Dennis and Nick were standing on a roof top in a big warehouse type room. There were five or six miniature houses that had been built in the room, giving it the appearance of a movie set. Many of the roof tops included a chimney and there were a few various styles and types included. Currently in front of the two men there was a largish brick chimney.
"Don't get smart with me." Nick snapped. "For this to work, you must believe in the magic. And I know you do, or else you wouldn't be here. So stop pretending that you don't believe or that it's too much to handle. Got it?"
Dennis looked down at his feet in his shame of pissing Santa Clause off. "Got it."
"OK, let's try this again. Like I was saying, the magic is something that we have to believe in. But the magic itself comes from children who believe in Santa. Of course, with the modern world we now live in, not as many people believe in Santa Clause anymore so there is less magic for us to use." Nick finished tightening his climbing harness around his waist. "Therefore we have to use a bit of our own physical strength and dexterity to deliver our gifts. Are you all tightened up over there?"
Dennis tugged at his harness. "Yep."
"Good. So the first thing that you'll do is come up to the chimney and attach the clamp to the edge. Then feed the rope through the eye and tie a knot." Nick demonstrated the procedure. "Then it's just a matter of belaying yourself down to the bottom, delivering the presents and climbing back up. Nothing to it."
"I really don't know the first thing about climbing, you know." He could tell Dennis was worried about belaying down the chimney, but there was something more as well. NIck just couldn't put his finger on it yet.
"Don't worry, I'll talk you through the whole thing and you'll have plenty of time to practice on your own. And of course this is only used in the case of a big enough chimney. The houses without fireplaces or with chimneys that are too small for you go get through, will be the ones you'll need the magic for." Nick adjusted his harness and rope combination and started to lower himself down the chimney. He explained everything to Dennis as he was doing it. Then came Dennis' turn. He started down the wall and was doing just fine until his shoulders and head were lowered into the chimney.
"Ahhh! NO! I can't do it. Get me out of here!" Dennis screamed. He was kicking and shoving against the walls of the chimney. Luckily, he hadn't let go of the rope or else he'd have come crashing down to the fireplace grate.
"It's OK Dennis, just lower yourself down the rope like I told you. Let it out a little at a time and you'll make it down just fine." NIck realized why Dennis was acting so hesitant when it came to climbing down the chimney. Dennis was scared of tight spaces.
A claustrophobic Santa, that just wouldn't do.
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Day 15: Prompt: two front teeth
Summary: The new Santa isn't as quiet as the old Santa and makes the mistake of waking a little girl on one of his visits.
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December 24th 11:54 AM - London
It was now Christmas Eve and Dennis had already started his deliveries in the far east, just as the sun was going down. Surprisingly, he had made it to England without any troubles. HIs phobia was mostly gone but there were hints of the old panic whenever he started down or back up a chimney. Mostly, he'd been using magic to get himself in and out and while the magic got weaker the more he used it, there were a few moments where he was able to re-supply.
Children who truly believed were kind of hard to come by but every time Dennis entered a house where there was at least one person who even believed a little bit, his magical energy crept back up slightly. And of course it helped when a few kids would see Santa just as he was leaving. But he made sure that all they saw was a flash of the red suit or the bottom of the bag as Dennis hauled it back up the chimneys.
One thing Nick had stressed to him was that it was OK for children to see a glimpse of Santa as he was leaving (it would help strengthen their awe and belief and therefore the magic), but it was absolutely necessary that Santa didn't wake any children in the middle of his delivery. And most importantly, Santa should never stop and talk to any child who might happen to see him.
Dennis didn't quite understand the reasoning behind that last rule. After all, if Santa would stop and talk to a kid, wouldn't that kid's belief increase like one hundred percent? And then he'd go off and tell his friends and the friends would be stronger believers too.
"And then the kid would tell his parents that he saw Santa and the parents will do one of two things. One, they'll tell their kid that Santa isn't real, that what they saw or who they talked to was just their imagination or they were having a dream. Or two, the parents freak out that there was a stranger in the house dressed like Santa and call the cops. The cops open an investigation and then the board of directors has to step in and mitigate things. And either way, the kid looses all faith that he once had." Nick had explained.
Dennis understood the rules and had followed them faithfully all night, until now.
"HI! You're Father Chrithmath, aren't you?" said the little girl. Dennis was screwed. It started as he was coming down the latest chimney. The pack of gifts slipped from his grasp and dropped heavily onto the grate at the bottom of the fireplace. By the time Dennis made it down and out of the fireplace, the girl was already sitting up on the sofa. Her hair was mussed up and there was a blanket thrown across her legs. She had clearly been asleep waiting for Santa to come and was woken up. Usually, Dennis was quiet enough so that the kids he found in this exact position would stay asleep until he left.
Dennis knew he couldn't talk to the girl so he just winked at her and turned to go about his business of stuffing stockings and laying presents under the tree.
"Aren't you going to thay anything? My name is Thophie. What's yours?" The girl had scooted off of the sofa and was following Dennis around the room.
Thophie? What kind of name was that? Dennis couldn't help himself from asking, rule be damned. "Thophie, I've never heard that name before."
"Not Thophie, thilly. Thophie." The girl giggled. It was then that Dennis realized she was missing her two front teeth, causing her mispronunciation of words.
"Oh, Sophie. That's a nice name. My name's Santa, of course." Dennis finished setting out the last present and turned back around toward the fire place, right into Sophie's hug.
Sophie's little arms wrapped tight around Dennis' legs, her head not coming much higher than his knees. "Alright Sophie, I have to leave now. You need to let me go." Dennis tried to pull Sophie off his legs but for a girl of six or so years old, she was very strong.
"I'll miss you Santa! I knew you were real, but big brother said I was stupid. Don't go, let me go get Theo and show you to him!"
"I can't stay Sophie, I have many more presents do deliver. You know the truth for real now, it doesn't matter what Theo thinks." Said Dennis. Actually, it would help if Theo also believed in Santa, for the sake of the magic. But if he was already of the age where he refused to believe, seeing Santa Clause for himself would probably do more harm than good.
"You're right Santa! I'll believe in you forever!" Sophie un-clung herself from his legs and went to sit back down on the sofa. She pulled the blanket back over her shoulders and gave Dennis a big toothless grin as she waved Santa goodbye.
Dennis smiled at her and winked one more time before ducking into the fireplace and starting his climb back up.
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Day 16: Prompt: wrap it up and send it
Summary: New Santa gets the idea that it might just be easier to wrap up the gifts and mail them.
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December 25 12:13 AM - New Jersesy
Having now reached the east coast of America, Dennis decided that he would use a little of the magic to try and make things go faster for himself during this last push.
He thought that maybe he cold get more gifts delivered faster if he simply used the postal service that was already in place across the United States. Dennis used a bit of the magic to wrap a few gifts in brown paper and send them back in time to the local post office of one small costal town. Of course the mail wasn't delivered in the middle of the night or on Christmas morning, so the gifts had to go back in time by at least a few days in order to get shipped to the correct addresses by Christmas Eve.
Luckily, one of the best and most handy talents of Santa was the ability to tell where his presents were and if they had been delivered to the correct home. This ability was initially used to make sure Dennis didn't get lost or go to the same house twice. But Dennis theorized that all he had to do was drive his sleigh back and forth across town and he'd be able to sense those houses that had his gifts already delivered to them by the postal service and he'd be able to skip those homes all together.
And it worked.
Dennis could fly down the street and sense from each house if they had gotten their gifts from Santa and if they were the correct gifts for that family. In the end, for that small costal town Dennis only had to deliver gifts to fifty or so homes.
So he did the same thing again and again. For almost the entire state of New Jersey, Dennis sent presents back in time to the local post offices and had the post-people deliver the gifts before he had even arrived.
However, one down side of the 'wrap it and send it' method was that his magical energy was running out faster and faster. It was never fully depleted thanks to the little bit of magic he would pick up as he flew over the homes of those who believed, but Dennis soon realized that this wasn't going to work in the long run.
He needed what little bit of human contact he got as he personally made deliveries to each family. That burst of energy when a kid would peek out from around the corner and see him was entirely necessary. And of course there was the milk and cookies that he was missing out on at many places too.
So, for the remainder of the state and all the rest to follow Dennis made each delivery personally and got to enjoy more sweet treats. Even if it did take a bit more time.
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Day 17: Prompt: scumbag
Summary: After going back to the traditional way of delivering presents, Santa runs into a woman who thinks he's her ex.
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December 25th 1:30 AM - Chicago area
Dennis had come across the eastern part of the United States a lot faster than he had thought possible. Perhaps a bit of that was helped along by the post office in New Jersey, but still there was something funny in the way time traveled while he was delivering presents.
Maybe his sleigh moved extremely fast while flying, or maybe time itself slowed down for that one night. Nick never did explain how that part of being Santa worked. Apparently there was some kind of natural magic that was involved in helping time move differently. It was the same natural magic that let the sleigh and the reindeer fly. And because Nick was never willing to explain how that magic worked or where it came from, Dennis suspected that Nick himself didn't even know.
He was now preparing to land at one of the last delivery locations for this neighborhood. It was a largish apartment building with perhaps twelve or so units.
As he parked his sleigh on the roof Dennis realized this was one of the times he was going to have to use his magic to get in and out of each apartment. He decided that the easiest way of doing so would be to walk up and down the halls and magic himself through the front door to deposit his gift somewhere inside.
Dennis had gotten through only four of the homes in this manner when he ran into trouble.
"How dare you! Scumbag! How did you get in here Frank? I took back your key."
Dennis had just walked through the door and was starting for the living room when a woman came walking out of her bathroom wearing a robe and a towel around her wet hair. As soon as she saw Dennis she started yelling at him. Dennis was so startled and off kilter that he had no ability to respond what-so-ever.
"And what the hell are you doing wearing that ridiculous Santa crap? DId the plant finally fire your ass?" The woman started advancing on Dennis. "Good. You didn't deserve that job anyway. I can't believe you just let yourself in like you belong here still. I broke up with you three months ago! What are you doing still standing there! Get out, you scumbag! Get out!"
Dennis had no option at that point but to quickly turn and run back out into the hallway. This woman is scary! He thought.
Out in the hall, Dennis could see a few nosy neighbors had opened their doors to see what was going on. Great, I'll never be able to finish this building now! He decided that his best course of action was to get to the roof and fly away as fast as possible. He would come back to this building a few hours later when the residents had gone back to sleep.
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Day 18: Prompt: virgin
Summary: New Santa needs to take a break from all the delivering so he stops at one of the few bars still open on Christmas eve and orders some 'virgin' drink - he's still on the job after all.
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December 25th 1:50 AM - Somewhere in Illinois
Dennis decided that after that last fiasco of a delivery he needed a break. Already ahead of schedule thanks to New Jersey he figured he had a few minutes to spare and so the next bar he few over which was still open he was going to stop and get a drink.
Surprisingly, it didn't take him more than a few minutes to find an open establishment. Dennis landed the sleigh on the roof and climbed down the fire escape to go in the front door.
Inside was dark and gloomy, not his usual scene even when he hadn't been Santa.
"Hey man, you look beat." Called out the bartender. "You just get out of a gig or something?"
"Huh?" Dennis was confused. The encounter with the crazy lady had really put the whammy on him. "Oh." He realized the bartender was talking about his outfit. He was still dressed in the red and white coat of Santa's ("Don't knock it till you try it, kid. It's actually really warm and you're gonna need warm." said Nick when he showed him the outfit. And it was.)
"Right, yeah. Actually, I'm still working. Just taking a break." Dennis sat down at the bar and looked around the room. There were a few customers at this early hour on Christmas morning. An old man sat in the corner staring into his half full glass and a small group of young people were piled into a booth at the front.
"Alright, well what can I get for you? A beer or something stronger? A shot of whisky?" The man reached under the counter and pulled out a shot glass.
Dennis shook his head. "No thanks, I really am still working and I have to fl-drive out of here."
"OK. Then, how about one of the virgin holiday specials I made up for those kids over there?" He nodded toward the group in the front. "They actually don't taste that bad. Even been fixing a few for myself this evening."
"Yeah, sure sounds good." Dennis nodded. "I wonder why all those kids are out at this time of night, on Christmas no less. They should probably be in bed, eager for Christmas morning."
The bartender turned back to Dennis and waved at someone in the group of kids. "See that boy there, with the blond hair. That's my son, he and his friends went out to a Christmas party at the local youth center. But since I had to close shop here and the party was over at midnight, they all came to hang out here and get free drinks before heading back to my place for the night. And don't think they aren't eager for Christmas morning. We take Christmas very seriously in our house. My son may be sixteen but somehow he's held onto his belief in Santa since he was a boy. I haven't the heart to tell him any different, but just maybe he's made me into a believer too."
Dennis got a rush of warm energy at that statement. This man and his son really were true believers in Santa, Dennis could feel in now. "Oh! I'm sorry if I'm holding you guys back from leaving. I won't be long. Swear."
"No, don't sweat it. You made it in before closing. See there goes Jake to flip the closed sign now." He pointed to his son who was making his way back to the table of friends. "All I gotta do is kick out this old geezer. Hey Walter! Time to go! I called a cab for you. It'll be here any minute."
"I'll take care of him, Mr. Richards." said one of the girls from the group as she walked past Dennis. "Come on Walter, time to go."
"Thanks, Amy." said Richards as the girl helped Walter to his feet and walked him to the door. Richards handed Dennis a tall glass filled with a frothy blended ice drink. "Here you go, one Virgin Chocolate Frosty."
Dennis took a sip and discovered the drink had a refreshing mint and chocolate flavor.
After a few more minutes of idle chatter while Richards tidied up behind the bar, wiped down the counter and Dennis finished his drink, Dennis decided it was about time to go. He pulled his wallet out of an inner pocket of the Santa suit. "Well Richards, how much do I owe you? That drink was mighty tasty."
"Nope. There's no charge for Santa on Christmas Eve, didn't you know?" Richards shook his head and pushed Dennis' wallet back. "Put your wallet away, man. You must be doing good work tonight if you're still out working at this time and refusing to drink. Even all the crazy drunk mall Santas have gone home by now. Go back to helping those sick kids or what ever you're doing tonight."
Dennis stood up and shook Richards' hand. "Well if you're sure I can't pay for my drink, at least let me give you something for Christmas." Dennis put his hand back into the inner pocket and with some Santa magic he was able to produce the gifts that would have been dropped off at the Richards' home later on. He passed over two oblong shaped, brightly wrapped boxes. "One for you and one for Jake."
"Wow, how'd you do that, dude?" Richards was definitely impressed.
"Just a little Christmas Magic."
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Day 19: Prompt: star of wonder
Summary: After he makes his last delivery (on time of course - cause he's Santa) Dennis rides off toward the north and the north star 'of wonder'.
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December 25th 4:55 AM - West Coast United States
That was it. The last delivery.
Dennis climbed back into the sleigh for the last time and took off from the roof with a shout of joy.
"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!" As the sleigh climbed higher and higher into the sky he made one last circle over the city and gave one last check that he'd not forgotten anybody and he let out another shout of joy. "Hooray! I'm done! I didn't make too bad a Santa after all." Dennis was beat tired and ready to sleep for what felt like two weeks.
Nick had told him that when he was all done with his deliveries that he was to come back to the main base of operations where he'd done most of his training. The reindeer would be housed there for most of the off season and Dennis could get some well deserved rest. Yeah I'm going to need that rest, thought Dennis. That was probably the longest all-nighter I've ever pulled.
"Now how do I get back?" Nick had told Dennis that there was only one way to get to the North Pole and it wasn't just keep flying north. There was more magic involved and this time it reminded Dennis of the magic in Peter Pan. "Just turn toward the North Star and keep flying at it, even if you think you might be going too high." Dennis turned the sleigh and searched the night sky for the bright, unmoving, ever wondrous North Star.
As Dennis started moving toward that fixed point in the sky it didn't look like he was getting any closer to it, but it did look like he was leaving the earth in a great hurry
Beneath him, the snowy ground started to blur, things turned hazy and Dennis had nothing but belief to tell him that he was going in the right direction. As things became more and more hard to look at Dennis quickly became dizzy and passed out.
He came to as the sleigh was stopping and looked around as the pristine white snow of the North Pole. Directly ahead of the reindeer was a barn, which they instinctively knew as home and was where they were currently pulling the sleigh. Once inside, Dennis noticed a familiar face standing off to the side.
Dennis jumped down to greet his friend. "Hey Nick! I did it. Everything delivered by five in the morning on Christmas Day. It was a success!" He looked a little closer at his older friend. Nick had gained a little sun from his time off in the islands. His white beard sharply contrasted with his freshly tanned face and neck. "How was your vacation?"
"It was wonderful Dennis, thank you for asking. But now I must ask you a question. Did you enjoy your night as Santa Clause?" Nick wore a very serious face. "All of it?"
"Well there were some pretty crazy folk out there. This one woman thought I was her ex who had broken into her house." Laughed for a moment at the memory of that particular delivery but then went silent. Dennis thought on the subject for a few moments. "But yeah, overall I did enjoy it. Making some kid's morning super special with an extra gift under the tree felt amazing."
Nick nodded and a bright smile came to his face. "Good, because I wasn't just training you to be my replacement for one year. I'm going to retire. From now on, you're going to officially be Santa Clause."
Dennis just looked at Nick with a blank expression. "What?"
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